Melania Trump attacks the press in GOP fundraising email

First Lady Melania Trump has now become a full partner in her husband's war against the free press.

Melania Trump signed her name to a GOP fundraising email that read: "Democrats and the opposition media are doing everything they possibly can to discredit Donald with false accusations by spreading their fake news and making it appear that he does not have the support of America's voters."

The email, which was flagged by New York Post reporter Nikki Schwab, exploited hostility toward the media in order to raise cash for the Republican Party.

It's unusual for Melania Trump to attack the media directly. Indeed, many in the media have painted her as a moderating influence on Trump, if not even a stealth member of the resistance.

For example, when she wore a jacket that said "I don't really care, do u?" to an immigration facility in June, some took it as a cryptic message to her husband.

Melania's email comes as Trump has ramped up his own attacks on the press.

Trump has branded the press as the "enemy of the people," and his incitement against the media at his rallies has stoked fears that someone is going to get hurt.

One senior White House correspondent, American Urban Radio Networks' April Ryan, recently revealed that she has had to hire a bodyguard because she has been made a "target" by Trump and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

At the height of the international scandal over family separations, Melania released a statement that many took as a condemnation of her husband's policy — but in fact merely supported Trump's lie that he was not responsible for ripping children away from their parents.

And when Melania Trump speaks out against cyberbullying, her words are often interpreted as a repudiation of Trump, rather than a ham-fisted and hypocritical attempt to soften the White House's public image.

The fact that Melania Trump has chosen to sign her name to a letter attacking the media, and even encouraging supporters to "win" a "battle" against the free press, ought to erase any doubt about where the first lady really stands.

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